Fire-escape



UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

ADA MAURICE, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

Fl RE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of" Letters Patent No. 242,832, dated June 14, 1881.

Application filed February 7, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ADA MAURICE, a citizen ot' the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the county of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. I

My invention relates to an improved device for breaking the fall of persons who may jump to escape from burning buildings.

In the drawings hereto annexed, Figure 1 is a top plan of the device. Fig. 2 is a section of same. Fig. 8 is a transverse section of same. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views.

I The letter A designates a wooden bar, preferably round, of which two are necessary. These bars, in practice, may be of anydesired length from six to twelve feet. They are placed parallel to each other, and a distance apart equal to their length.

The bars are prevented from spreading apart by means of flexible but non-elastic bands B, of any suitable material, such as leather or strong woven goods similar to saddle-girthing. One of these is attached to the coinciding ends of the two bars. A knob, c, on each end of the bars prevents the bands from slipping off. i

A number of strips, E, of indie-rubber, in practice about four inches wide, are secured by their ends to the wooden bars in any suitable manner, but preferably by wrapping one end of each strip once around each of the bars, as shown in Fig. 2, and t-hcn firmly fastening the wrapped end of the strip by placing a metal clasp, F, entirely about it and screwing or riveting the parts of the clasp together. The clasp employed for this purpose consists of a steel or brass plate, bent somewhat U-shaped, to adapt it to fit about the strip where it is wrapped around the round bar, and at each of the four corners is a projecting lug, f, inwhich a hole is made for the screw or rivet g.

It will be seen the ends of the clasp maybe firmly fastened together, so as to secure the strips without perforating them by the screws or rivets.

The spaces h between the strips should be of 5 5 width about equal to the width of the strips.

The two sides of the rubber strips E and the bands B are each covered by a sheet of strong canton-flannel, I, with the nap or plush outside, leaving uncovered only a space of about five inches, extending along the entire length of the round bars. This space affords access for the hands of persons to grasp the bars and assist in supporting the apparatus.

The spaces h between the rubber strips and the upper and lower sheet of canton-flannel are filled or stuffed with felt or canton-flannel,

folded, n, so as to be of uniform thickness with the strips, and a row of stitching, p, is run near each edge of the stuffing through both upper and lower covering and the stuffing. Thus the adjoining edges of two pieces of stuffing and the upper and lower covering, extending across the whole, form a channel or passage,

through which the rubber strips loosely pass, as shown in Fig. 5, by which they arepermitted to stretch in the direction of their length, while the covering I forms a recipient which remains intact.

Two rows of heavy stitching, q. are made across the center of the covering and transverse of the rubber strips, which secure each of the strips at their middle. By this arrangement each strip may stretch between the middle and each of its ends only, whereby if one of the rubber strips were to break at any point between the middle and either end the other end of the strip would continue to serve its purpose.

A sheet of strong cloth, B, of any suitable material, is attached by each of two opposite edges to the bars B, and hangs loosely below the recipient and strips, as seen in Fig. 2,

forming an unyielding kind of a hammock.-

strips, persons maygrasp the bar on one side, while others grasp the bar on the opposite side, and each bar may be drawn in a direction away from the other, and thus afford a firm support to the yielding recipient without subjecting it to any strain.

It will be seen, also, that as the connectingstrips are flexible the whole device. may be rolled into a compact bundle, and thereby occupy but little space when not in use.

Having described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesl. The combination, in an apparatus for breaking the fall of persons, of two bars, A, a

strip of flexible but non-elastic material, B, attached to the coinciding ends of the bars to I limit the extent to which they may spread apart, and a yielding recipient between the bars and strips, as set forth.

2. In an apparatus for breaking the fall of persons, the combination of a yielding but nonelastic recipient, I, provided with passages, elastic strips E extending loosely through the passages, and a bar at each of two opposite 2 edges, to which the ends of the elastic strips are attached, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ADA MAURICE.

Witnesses GHAs. B. MANN, W A, NUMsEN. 

